By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Thanks to a great 27-20 run in the fourth quarter, Virtus Bologna got the 92-88 win over Fenerbahce in a buzzing Segafredo Arena. This is the fourth consecutive EuroLeague loss for the Turkish team.
The team’s captain Marco Belinelli fired up in the fourth quarter, ending with 18 points off the bench.
Alessandro Pajola was also essential, scoring two late clutch free throws, having 10 assists and 3 steals. Starting for the first time in this EuroLeague Regular Season, their fellow countrymen Nico Mannion scored 13 points.
Despite losing the clash under the rim, since Fenerbahce grabbed way more rebounds (37 vs 20) than Virtus, Mam Jaiteh had a great night with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Kyle Weems followed with 12 points, shooting 4/5 from beyond the arc.
“Extremely meaningful win for our team. Our fans were the main factor, several players tried to make one extra effort to play, contributing. Congrats to all the players, everybody tried their bests. Rebounds were painful tonight, they are extremely physical and well-organized on defense. Our goal is to keep going, we don’t have an obligation to make it to the playoffs but we want to be in the group of the ones who will be in the race till the end”, Sergio Scariolo said after the victory.
Johnathan Motley had another monstrous night. The former Lokomotiv Kuban center went near his second double-double of the season with 26 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 11/14 from two.
The other newcomer of the summer Scottie Wilbekin followed with 12 points, being perfect at the charity stripe (4/4) but struggling from three (2/7). Nick Calathes added 12 points and 6 assists, but with 5 turnovers.
“The game could have gone differently, but we couldn’t capitalize on the last play. We gave up 27 points in the last quarter, Belinelli gave them a different dimension. We were there, but Marco gave us the boost-up needed. We were not hitting open shots”, Dimitris Itoudis said in the post-game press conference.
After losing against Baskonia, Virtus Bologna bounced back thanks to high-effective shooting percentages: 59.5% inside the area, 54.5% from deep, and 92.3% at the line. They also shared the ball better than Fenerbahce, with 26 assists against 15.
Sergio Scariolo didn’t have key elements, as Daniel Hackett, Semi Ojeleye and Isaia Cordinier joined Awudu Abass as injured players. Jordan Mickey (11 p) returned to the court.
Dimitris Itoudis, instead, had to do without Nemanja Bjelica once again, while Kostas Antetokounmpo (8 p) made his 2022-23 EuroLeague debut to replace Tonye Jekiri.
In Round 17, Fenerbahce (10-6) will travel to Lithuania to face Zalgiris Kaunas on January 5 at 19:00 CET. After facing Milan in the LBA, Virtus Bologna (7-9) will be hosted by Barcelona on the same day at 20:30 CET.
PHOTO CREDIT: Virtus Segafredo Bologna